The present invention is related to baby carriers of the fabric type that leave the hands of the adult free while the baby is being carried.
Carriers that permit babies to travel with adults but leave the adult's hands free are not new; they appear to have been used by stone-age cultures. However, such carriers have enjoyed renewed popularity in recent years as the enhanced mobility that they afford parents of young children has again been recognized. The convenience of these carriers has permitted parents to carry children for longer periods and engage in activities that are more strenuous than would have been permitted without the use of the baby carrier.
Naturally, a large number of designs have been produced to meet the resultant demand, and most have been designed with a concern both for the safety of the child and the comfort of the parent. However, the comfort of the child does not appear to have ordinarily been a primary design criterion for many baby carriers presently available, and the concern for safety has often resulted in designs that excessively restrict the child's freedom of movement so that he does not travel contentedly for very long. Furthermore, many designs, although providing safety in the sense that the child is unlikely to fall out of the carrier, permit uncontrolled motion of the legs during strenuous parental activity, and orthopedic problems at the hips have sometimes resulted.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to permit some freedom of movement and thus comfort for the baby while preventing excessive movement of the legs.